Ah. ah. ahhh... PLUTARCH!! ...bless you!

Plutarch.  On list there has been some discussion about Plutarch.  It wasn't long ago I had no idea what Plutarch was... and I probably couldn't have cared less.  But now, the enriched homeschool mother than I am; I have discovered something worthwhile.  I mean after all, it's been rated one of the top 20 books that nobody reads!  heheh. See the helpful links below if you too would like to be enlightened on Plutarch.  :)

Anyway, on the AO yahoo group (where there is almost always some interesting discussion going on), someone was looking for reasonably priced audio version of the book (specifically the life of Caesar). I looked around, and the prices range from $25 for only a few chapters of the book all the way to over $100 per volume for a 3 volume set!  Yikes.  Now, I see this is a problem and I half considered for a very brief millisecond making a recording of the book myself!!  Uh.  I don't have time for that.  SO, I had to keep looking.

Well, I have to share what I just found... 

And I think it's a secret.  I mean amazon doesn't even have the right stock photo up!  I think they're trying to keep it a mystery!  But you cannot fool me when it comes to finding a great price!!!

Plutarch's Lives by Audible Audio books only $17.30!  - ($7.49 if you have a membership)

**(editor's note: it's NOT such a great deal after all!  there are only FOUR lives included!!! see comments for details on how I could make such a nonsensical mistake... uh. sorry. I hope none of you have gone out and BOUGHT it!  I promise to check better next time!!!!)  Now, there remains the possibility that this recording does NOT contain all the lives... but MANY of the books you'll find are not complete either (my paperback copy doesn't have ALL the lives). It has a few to get you started though! ...and to me, that's perfect.  You choose. I just had to let you know ;)  **(editor's note: the following link contains 6 lives and so is a better deal, more specifically, it has Caesar, which is actually what the AOer was looking for.)  Roman Lives - unabridged (for around $20).  You'd have to find the Greek Lives somewhere else?  But it's still WAY cheaper than the Blackstone version!


Of course you can always get the audio free at librivox...
and in print for free here.

I love free.


You may be wondering...
"Why study Plutarch?  ...what in the world IS it?  All this time I thought you were sneezing..."  
You'll find the answers if you really want to know at the following links...

Helpful links:
Ambleside Online's Plutarch page... basic info and schedule.
Why Study Plutarch by George Grant... an article.
One lovely family's experience with Plutarch... a blog post.

**(This post has been edited to reflect new information.  The price I found ($17.30) is still a little better than many options available, but it has so few of the lives that it doesn't make it worth the price, UNLESS you are only specifically looking for a few lives without having to make the bigger investment.  The second option listed would be a better option in my opinion as it costs $2 more but has 2 more lives as well!) 

**(Oh and one more thing.  I enjoy reading Plutarch WITH my kids.  I think it is one of those books that I personally wouldn't really like to set my kids loose with.  I've read several warnings on the AO list that many of the lives have inappropriate themes. I think I want to be able to talk things through with them... so in this case, we would listen to the audio together.)